An African Adventure
by MWolfL
Summary: Graduation time for Flying Rhino Junior High, so The Phantom needs to be rid of. Not wanting that to happen, The Phantom decides to get rid of them! Will the four of them be able to stop The Phantom permanently without getting killed? BillyXLydia
1. Talking About the Future

A.N. Once again YouTube got me into a show, this time Flying Rhino Junior High. While I was watching some of the episodes I noticed a possible pairing and decided to write a story about it. My friend Keezree from YouTube helped me with some details.

Around a year had passed, and it was now getting close to graduation time for Billy O'Toole, Lydia Lopez, Ruby and Marcus Snarkus, and others who were in grade nine. One day Billy was walking to school, when he froze. Lydia was walking towards the school from the opposite direction. Now you might think that not much had changed during the past year, but you would be wrong. Billy had gotten more into sports than ever before and showed it off frequently with a baseball themed cap and shirt. Lydia stopped wearing pigtails or ponytails, now had her hair loose in a short cut, and had her braces removed. Ruby still wore frilly dresses, but now had her hair in a bun, trying to look more grown up (since she was trying to get acting jobs despite still being in school). Marcus was the only one who hadn't changed much, he only grew a little taller. He was also thinking of switching to contacts once he entered high school, so he wouldn't have to worry about his glasses getting broken or lost.

But the biggest change was the fact that Billy had developed feelings for Lydia. It happened a few months ago, and caught him off guard once he figured out what was happening. He never told anyone, since he was trying to work things out, such as how it was going to affect his friendship with Ruby and Marcus as well as Lydia. Billy didn't know if Ruby and Marcus would accept him and Lydia ending up together, but he did know that he was going to have to tell them about his feelings before he told Lydia. If they weren't okay with it then that settled it, he wouldn't tell Lydia. But if they did...actually, he was more scared of telling Lydia than not telling her, but he did love her enough to hope that his two other friends would accept their relationship. This created quite an emotional conflict for him.

Suddenly, someone put a hand on Billy's shoulder, startling him. He had been so busy gazing at Lydia that he forgot that there were other people there. He turned, and saw that the hand belonged to Marcus.

"Are you okay Billy?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah, I was just lost in thought." Billy quickly looked over to where he last saw Lydia.

Lydia was still there, and thankfully hadn't noticed him staring at her since she and Ruby were too busy talking about what they were going to wear to graduation. Silly, really, since their gowns would cover almost everything.

"What were you thinking about?" Marcus asked.

Billy decided it was time to tell Marcus the truth.

"About my feelings for Lydia, I fell in love with her a few months ago." Billy admitted.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Marcus asked, looking confused and surprised but fortunately not angry or disgusted.

"I was busy trying to figure things out." Billy shrugged. "I hope it will be okay with you and Ruby, I don't want to harm our friendship."

"Well it's okay with me, I don't know about Ruby." Marcus smiled. "She might be okay with it, though maybe a little jealous that Lydia got a boyfriend before her."

Billy chuckled.

"You should tell Lydia as soon as possible." Marcus added.

"I will, just not today I want to get Ruby's insight first."

"Good idea."

The bell rang. Ruby and Lydia were already inside so Billy and Marcus ran to catch up with them. Except when they actually got inside of course.

Now, even though they were in a different grade they did get a few of the last year's teachers along with some new teachers. The teachers in that school taught all the grades, they just had different lesson plans for them.

Eventually lunch came, and the four friends sat at the same table as usual. Billy sat across from Lydia, since he worried that sitting next to her would cause his feelings to be revealed.

"You know guys, after we graduate there might not be anyone else who could stop The Phantom's plans like we have been doing." Marcus pointed out.

"Marcus is right, we should come up with a way to stop The Phantom permanently." Lydia agreed.

"But how?" Ruby asked.

The bell rang.

"We'll discuss this after school." Billy said.

They got up, tossed the remains of their lunch into the garbage (or recycling, depending on the item), and headed to their next class.

Unfortunately, The Phantom had been spying on them at that moment.

"What?" He gasped. "They're plotting to get rid of me?"

"Oh dear, that's not good for you." Ratticus said worriedly.

"Well no kidding!" The Phantom snapped back. "I'll just have to beat them to it. Before they graduate, I'm going to get rid of them...**permanently**." He finished menacingly, ending with an evil laugh.


	2. Flying Rhino JH, Almost Literally

Now, one of the teachers Billy and the others got again was Mrs. Snodgrass, their main teacher from last year. For those in grade nine though she only taught history in the morning and geography and geology in the afternoon. Grade nine students had more teachers than past grades, to prepare them for the teacher-for-every-class system they would experience in high-school.

As they were walking to class Ruby took a book on zebras out of her backpack.

"Aren't zebras amazing horses?" Ruby smiled, glancing through the pictures. "I would love to own a zebra for a pet."

"Actually Ruby, zebras aren't horses, they're just cousins of horses." Lydia corrected her. "And it's a bad idea, zebras are wild animals."

"So?" Ruby retorted. "I've heard of people taming zebras before."

"Yes but very few attempts were successful." Mrs. Snodgrass said, having overheard them. "Zebras are very unpredictable, and more prone to panic than horses."

"Well I don't care, I'll bet I can tame a zebra."

Billy, Lydia, and Marcus shook their heads. Ruby was always stubborn and sometimes made foolish mistakes. Not that they didn't, but Ruby was more prone to them. She was the only one in the group who used to make unhealthy decisions like staying up until two in the morning even on school nights.

But no matter, there was no way Ruby would be able to tame a zebra now so they dropped the subject. So did the teacher, since it was now time for class. Part of the reason Ruby had gotten into taming zebras was the fact that they were studying Africa at the moment. Unfortunately, this and Ruby's desire gave The Phantom and idea.

"Hm, Africa has many dangers...sounds like the perfect way to get rid of those four pests." The Phantom grinned evilly.

He fiddled with the controls on the computer, until the entire school slowly turned into Africa. Furniture disappeared into the ground as Savannah grass grew from the floor. The ceiling disappeared to reveal the sky. Random trees sprung up from the ground as the walls vanished.

"Looks like The Phantom struck again." Billy remarked.

"Yup, time to get the school back to normal." Marcus agreed.

Mrs. Snodgrass had started an educational tour, like she always does whenever The Phantom alters the school, so it was easy for Billy, Marcus, and Ruby to sneak aways from the class. Since Africa was a large continent they decided to split up. Ruby and Marcus went in one direction to locate the basement, using Marcus's Mini Mega Mind, while Billy and Lydia went in another direction to explore Africa and figure out what problem they would have to solve to transform the school back to normal. During their walk Billy thought about admitting his feelings.

"_I really do love her, it feels great just walking next to her._" Billy thought. "_Maybe I should admit my feelings now, while we're alone... Wait a minute! Idiot! What was I thinking, I don't want The Phantom to find out! I'll tell her after school, when The Phantom can't spy on us._"

Meanwhile, Ruby and Marcus continued on until they saw an angry lion in front of them.

"I hope we're not it's next meal." Ruby said nervously.

"Uh, actually the lionesses do all the hunting, he's just probably mad that we invaded his territory." Marcus corrected, though also nervous.

"Either way...RUN!"

She and Marcus ran away from the lion, who chased after them with angry roars. This continued until Marcus saw a jungle.

"Head for the jungle! Lions are only good hunters out in the Savannah!" He said.

Marcus and Ruby ran into the jungle, but the lion still chased them. Suddenly, a powerful arm grabbed Ruby and Marcus! It was a gorilla, female apparently since there was a kid behind her, and she placed Ruby and Marcus on a thick branch.

"Lucky for us gorillas, especially females, are protective of the young...even the young of other species." Marcus commented.

"Glad to know not all African creatures are vicious." Ruby muttered, catching her breath; even though she had learned to take better care of her body she still wasn't in the best physical condition.

Other gorillas showed up and they, along with the female gorilla, tossed rocks and branches at the lion with angry chatters. It didn't take long for the lion to give up, and once he did Ruby and Marcus climbed down and decided to leave the jungle in the opposite direction. The gorillas didn't do anything except to watch them leave. At one point Marcus looked back and waved bye with a smile. The gorillas didn't do anything, since they didn't understand human body language.

When they left the jungle Ruby noticed a zebra herd in front of them.

"Ah-ha, now I can finally get a pet zebra." Ruby smiled, twisting some vines together.

"Ruby, these zebras, like everything else, were created by The Phantom." Marcus pointed out. "Once we turn the school back to normal the zebras will disappear."

"I'll just catch one as a practice pet then." Ruby shrugged, tying the twisted vines into a lasso.

Ruby then snuck ahead until she was able to hide behind a nearby bush.

"Ruby no, really bad idea," Marcus protested, following her. "You're going to regret this..."

"Just get down and keep quiet." Ruby retorted, before turning the lasso and throwing it.

The loop part landed around the neck of a zebra, startling it and causing it to rear up and whinny. This startled the rest of the herd, and they started to stampede! Ruby, too late, realized that the stampede included the zebra she had her lasso on...which she was still holding onto. She let out a startled cry as she was pulled into the air!

Marcus tried to keep up with the herd, but only managed to keep them in sight. Fortunately he had been working harder than his sister at keeping fit.

"If you could hear me Ruby, I would say: 'I told you so!'." Marcus said bitterly.


	3. A Bad Situation Becomes Worse

Billy and Lydia were still walking, when they heard a rumble. Confused, since they saw nothing in front of them, decided to look behind them. That's when they saw what was causing the rumble:

"STAMPEDE!" They both cried before running away!

Or at least trying to, the zebras were unfortunately doing a good job at keeping up with them. Lydia and Billy ran as hard as they could, but had to admit that the situation looked hopeless.

"I...don't...think...we can...outrun them." Lydia panted.

"Well maybe one of us can dodge them." Billy said with a determined look.

"What do you-?"

Before Lydia could finish her sentence, Billy pushed her aside! Lydia skidded along the ground for a few inches, now out of harms way. Billy wasn't so lucky, he had lost his balance when he pushed Lydia aside and now was under the stampede!

"BILLY!" Lydia cried.

Ruby, who had been holding on to her lasso the whole time, heard Lydia cry out and let go, landing roughly on the ground. She then saw Lydia looking as if she was trying to reach something under the stampede. Realizing what had happened, Ruby joined Lydia and together they managed to drag Billy out of harms way. Billy was badly bruised and unconscious, and Lydia looked close to tears. Marcus managed to catch up by this point.

"Ruby if you try that again I swear I'm gonna...!" Marcus said irritated and out of breath; then he saw Billy. "Billy!" He gasped. "What happened?"

"The stampede came right at us...Billy saved me..." Lydia started to cry...then what Marcus said earlier registered in her brain. "It was your fault!" Lydia glared at Ruby.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know they'd run off like that?" Ruby snapped back defensively.

"Because they're cousins of horses, which are also easily spooked, and because I told you they were too wild!"

"Well they weren't real zebras, they were just some creation of The Phantom's!"

"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!" Lydia was really losing her temper, startling Ruby and even Marcus, who was analyzing Billy with his Mini Mega Mind.

"What's the matter with you, you survived didn't you?" Ruby glared, now ticked off.

"BUT WHAT ABOUT BILLY?" Lydia now grabbed Ruby by the front of her dress! "He could be... RUBY YOU CAN BE SO SELFISH AND SELF-CENTERED!"

"Lydia!" Marcus snapped, cutting her off. "I understand why you're upset, and I'm on your side, but please calm down before you kill Ruby!"

Lydia calmed down a little, at least enough for her to see how scared and upset Ruby now looked.

"Oh..." Lydia awkwardly let go of Ruby.

"Besides, we don't have time to argue we have to get Billy to a hospital soon." Marcus added. "He's still alive but..."

Lydia and Ruby looked horrified.

"He's dying?" Ruby said, now feeling horrible.

"Slowly, his life-force is at eighty-one percent." Marcus also looked scared for Billy.

"Come on then!" Lydia gently picked up Billy's shoulders. "We'd better get him somewhere safe."

Ruby grabbed Billy by his feet and, with Marcus leading the way, they went in search of a safe place. They soon found it: a medical aid tent. This was the African version of the nurse's office. They quickly went towards the tent, where they saw Nurse Cutlip outside.

"What happened to Billy?" Nurse Cutlip asked, shocked.

"Zebra stampede...can you do anything for him?" Lydia pleaded.

"What's his status?" Nurse Cutlip asked.

Marcus handed her his Mini Mega Mind, which still has Billy's health info on it. Nurse Cutlip frowned.

"I'm afraid his injuries are too great for me to heal them, but I can keep his fluids and vitamins up." Nurse Cutlip opened the flap to her tent.

Lydia and Ruby gently carried Billy inside and laid him down onto a cot. Nurse Cutlip followed and inserted an IV.

"He'll be able to last longer this way, but we still need to contact the hospital as soon as possible." Nurse Cutlip said, leading them out of the tent.

"We'll do that once the school turns back to normal...I hope we have enough time." Marcus said.

"Me too...Lydia come on, we have to get the school back." Ruby said, realizing Lydia wasn't following them.

Lydia was worriedly looking at Billy, but once she heard Ruby call she grabbed Billy's hat, put it on her head, and left the tent with a determined look on her face. Marcus, Ruby, and Nurse Cutlip were confused as to why Lydia was wearing Billy's hat, but they just shrugged without saying anything. Marcus and Ruby caught up with Lydia, and they continued on their mission.

"One down, three to go." The Phantom chuckled evilly; he then contacted someone...or rather, a bunch of someones...


	4. A Secret Enterance is Awkwardly Found

Using the Mini Mega Mind, Marcus managed to steer them in the right direction, but they had to stop concentrating on that when they heard warrior cries! They turned around, to see an attacking tribe coming right at them!

"Uh, are these headhunters or cannibals?" Lydia asked nervously.

"It's usually hard to tell until you actually get to see their village." Marcus explained, also nervous.

"Well I'm not sticking around for that!" Ruby said before running off. "RUN!"

Lydia and Marcus did, the tribe still chasing after them. This continued until they reached a cave, which they ran into before realizing too late that it was a dead end. The only other paths were in a row on their left, but they were even shorter than the path they were on.

"Where are we now?" Ruby asked.

"Judging by my Mini Mega Mind, in one of the bathrooms on the West side of the school." Marcus said before his eyes widened. "Er...make that the girls' bathroom." He muttered, embarrassed.

Ruby and Lydia tried not to giggle.

The tribe then caught up! The warriors raised their spears and tossed them, but Lydia, Ruby, and Marcus managed to duck in time, causing the spears to harmlessly fall onto the floor. Well, all except for one, that one soared through a hole in the wall behind them. Confused, Marcus studied the hole.

"It's a pipe!" He realized. "It must lead to the basement!"

Sure enough, that hole was one of the secret passageways The Phantom used to get back into the basement whenever he had to be on the upper floors of the school. Sometimes he dressed up as a girl, which is why some of the secret entrances were in girls' bathrooms. This one hadn't been noticed before because normally there was a tile covering the hole. Of course there are no tiles in caves, so it had disappeared when the rest of the school turned into Africa. The Phantom made the basement and pipes exceptions to the changes he made, which is why the pipe was still there.

As the spear continued soaring through the pipe, The Phantom and Ratticus knew what was coming. Similar events had happened before.

"Uh-oh." Ratticus looked scared.

"Not again." The Phantom muttered.

Sure enough, the spear lodged itself into the Environmaster, The Phantom's computer! Sparks flew out of the computer as it began to crash. This of course resulted in the school being turned back to normal and the tribe disappearing. Ruby, Lydia and Marcus cheered for a bit...until Marcus remembered where they were.

"I'm gone!" He zipped out of the girls' bathroom.

This time Ruby and Lydia giggled.

Back in the basement, the sparks set the wooden part of the spear on fire, which rapidly spread down the Environmaster! The Phantom and Ratticus looked at each other, screamed, and ran out of the basement. This resulted in them running up the stairs...into the main part of the school with the classrooms. They didn't realize their mistake until they saw some students, a few teachers, and the principal staring at them.

"Oops." The Phantom said nervously.

Marcus, with Ruby and Lydia not far behind, showed up and glared at the two of them.

"Everyone, meet The Phantom and his minion Ratticus." Ruby said.

"You mean...he's real? You're real?" Principal Mulligan said, shocked.

Now the rest of the school started to get very angry.

"I'm calling the police!" Principal Mulligan said angrily.

Smoke started to appear from under the basement door, which everyone noticed.

"Er, better call the fire department too." Ratticus said automatically; The Phantom bopped him on the head.

"And the hospital." Lydia added. "Billy's in bad shape."

And that's what Principal Mulligan and a couple teachers did. The fire engine, police car, and ambulance arrived around the same time. As the fire fighters put out the basement fire The Phantom and Ratticus were arrested and Billy was driven to the hospital. Lydia, Ruby, and Marcus went with Billy, and their parents were contacted.


	5. A Trial for a Phantom

Weeks later, Billy woke up, having made a complete recovery. Billy's family, including his five younger sisters, visited him first and then it was Lydia, Marcus, and Ruby's turn. Lydia went first.

"I'm so relieved that you're alive, I was very worried." Lydia said, sitting down next to Billy's right side.

"Hey, did you honestly think I'd abandoned you guys like that?" Billy chuckled; then he looked confused. "Why are you wearing my hat?" He asked.

"Huh?" Lydia felt to top of her head... "Oh! I forgot I was still wearing this!" Lydia took Billy's hat off, laughing.

"'Still'?"

"Yeah, after Marcus, Ruby and I brought you to the nurse I automatically took your hat and put in on." Lydia explained. "I guess I was so scared that you were...gonna die..." Lydia choked back a sob. "That I wanted part of you near me."

Billy smiled.

"I understand, and I'm actually glad to hear that." Billy put his right hand on her left hand. "I love you."

Lydia smiled and put her right hand on his right hand.

"I love you too."

They kissed.

Ruby and Marcus saw this since they had been watching through the window, waiting for Lydia to signal them to enter. Marcus was happily surprised, he knew of Billy's love for Lydia but wasn't sure whether Lydia returned Billy's feelings or not. Ruby did not see any of this coming, but when she recovered she accepted it. Ever since the African incident she had been trying to be less selfish, including caring about her friends happiness even if it might inconvenience her.

After Lydia and Billy broke apart Lydia signaled for Marcus and Ruby to enter. Marcus and Ruby expressed their relief over Billy's recovery and Ruby apologized for starting the stampede in the first place. Billy wasn't surprised to hear that the stampede was Ruby's fault, but he forgave her. Then he asked about The Phantom, and was told that both The Phantom and Ratticus had been arrested the same day he was driven to the hospital and The Phantom was going to be put on trial soon. The law enforcement wanted to wait until Billy was out of the hospital so that he could be a part of it; after all he, Marcus, Lydia, and Ruby were the plaintiffs.

The trial began a few days after Billy left the hospital. It started off usual, setting up what the trial was about and introducing the judge and then the plaintiffs and defendants. The defendants were both The Phantom and Ratticus...who The Phantom refused to have for a lawyer, he was going to be his own lawyer. Originally the court is supposed to assign someone a lawyer if they don't have one but no lawyer wanted to take The Phantom's side of the case so...

Anyway, Billy, Marcus, Lydia, and Ruby took turns describing what The Phantom had been doing to their school and the dangers he put everyone in. The teachers and Principal Mulligan were called in as witnesses too. They stated that they always knew about the different realities The Phantom put him in, but didn't believe that he was real since it sounded too much like The Phantom of the Opera. The teachers thought it was just some program Principal Mulligan set up to educate the students and Principal Mulligan thought the teachers had set it up. Obviously they never bothered to double-check their theories with each other.

The Phantom was then called to the stands, and asked about his actions. First he gave his full name: Earl P. Sidebottom, and then he ranted about how he was mistreated during his time at Flying Rhino and wanted to get revenge.

"Wait a minute,'Sidebottom', wasn't that the last name of those two tycoons who owned an oil company many years ago?" The persecutor asked.

"Yes, they were my parents." Earl said. "They're probably wondering about me..."

"Well, if they were before they're not now...they died about ten years ago." The judge said.

"What?" Earl looked surprised for a moment, then he recovered. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Mom smoked a lot and dad gave a whole new meaning to the word gluttony. He was not only that way about food but also about money."

Billy suddenly felt sorry for Earl. Coming from a big family you'd think that Billy would get tired of having so many siblings but he never did. He enjoyed his sisters' company, especially since a couple of them also liked baseball and would often practice with him. So, to hear about Earl's parents' deaths...well, Billy didn't want to imagine his parents dying prematurely. After all Earl was in his early thirties or so.

"I have a few questions your honor." Billy raised his hand.

"Of course." The judge agreed.

Billy approached Earl.

"Earl, did you ever wonder how your parents took your disappearance?" Billy asked.

"Well, I'm sure they weren't happy but I don't know if they ever tired to find me." Earl shrugged.

"They didn't."

Everyone turned to see a lawyer, who was sitting with Marcus, Lydia, and Ruby, standing up with a file. Billy and his friends were too young to represent themselves so the court gave them a lawyer.

"When I found out Mr. Sidebottom's full name weeks earlier I did a little background check." The lawyer continued. "After Mr. Sidebottom disappeared the school notified the police of his disappearance but his parents didn't care. When they were interviewed they basically said that if their son disappeared it was because he did something bad at school and if he did then they didn't want to have anything more to do with them."

Billy and his friends were shocked to hear this, but Earl wasn't too surprised.

"Why 'bad at school', specifically?" The judge asked.

"Because all they cared about in regards to me was my grades." Earl explained. "They only wanted me to get straight As in everything, not even one B, and didn't care about my health or social life. When I got that D in shop class I freaked out because I didn't want to think about what they would do to me when they found out. So I snapped, ran away, and plotted my revenge."

"What about your friends? Couldn't they have helped?" Billy asked.

"Before Ratticus I never had any friends." Earl admitted. "That's why I created him in the first place, he's my first and only friend."

Ratticus sniffled a little, though it was hard to tell whether it was because he felt sorry for Earl or because he was touched that Earl called him his friend. But it was easy to see that Lydia, Marcus, and Ruby were starting to feel sorry for Earl. No one knew what to say at the moment. Then the plaintiffs' lawyer shuffled through the papers in his file.

"Well, your parents left the oil company to your dad's chief executive officer, but they didn't mention who should get their property or money. So, all their property was sold and their money was given to the government. The only things left are mementos like pictures, which are in a safety deposit box in the First National Bank."

"I'll look through those later, but most likely I'll destroy them." Earl said. "There's nothing from my past that I'd like to remember. Except maybe my old toys and such...I wasn't able to take them with me."

"Those were put in different safety deposit boxes near the one with the photos...the court did it to be on the safe side just in case you were still alive. Only the furniture was sold, and even the electronics were saved. After all you owned the toys and other things from your room, not your parents."

"That's true...I had to buy them all myself. Except for the furniture."

"Wait, you mean you never even got toys for Christmas or your birthday?" Billy was shocked.

"No, just practical items and money towards college. Fortunately I had my own bank account so I was able to buy anything I wanted without them stopping me."

"Your own account? Even as a kid?"

"My parents wanted as little contact with me as possible." Earl explained. "To them I was just someone who could take on the family legacy of owning an oil company."


	6. A New Found Friendship

A.N. Originally Earl was just going to go to jail for the rest of his life. But after a conversation with Keezree I came up with this instead.

Billy thought about this. So Earl not only was bullied in school but he also didn't have any friends and was abused by his parents. Neglect, after all, is a form of abuse. And Earl's retreating to the basement to plot revenge was just a reaction to all that. So he really wasn't evil at all...

"Your honor, what will Earl be charged with?" Billy asked.

"Well, it's more than likely that he'll get life in prison, with maybe a chance or two at parole." The judge said.

Earl was suddenly scared: that would be worse than living in the school's basement his whole life!

"I have a different idea." Billy said. "What if Earl promised to start a new life, beginning with community service instead of time in prison. This would mean no evil actions, not even jaywalking, and he cannot build another supercomputer like the one he used to alter reality in the school. Of course if a more practical use than 'taking over the world' can be found, I guess he can build a new supercomputer, but he can't use it for evil reasons."

"It's called an Environmaster." Earl corrected.

"Right."

"But he did almost cost you your life, from what I read here. Murder or attempt to murder does cost you a lifetime in prison." The judge pointed out.

A.N. It's at least that way in their world. Not sure about ours.

"Hey, that was only because I was defending myself." Earl retorted. "I overheard **them** talking about getting rid of me!"

"Uh, we were only going to get you arrested." Ruby said, surprised and a little puzzled.

"Oh..." Earl now felt really awkward.

"*Ahem*, so, about my idea?" Billy said.

"Well, we could make it a lifetime of community service instead of a lifetime in prison, but that's the best the court can compromise." The judge said.

"What...what if I dropped my charges?"

Everyone gasped and stared at him! Lydia went up to him.

"But he almost got you killed!" She said.

"Look, even though he did attempt to kill us the stampede was unintentional." Billy said.

Ruby looked uncomfortable. No one else, not even their parents, knew that the stampede had been her fault in a way.

"What about that tribe that tried to kill me, Marcus, and Ruby?" Lydia pointed out.

"Like Earl said, that was just out of misguided defense." Billy said. "It's obvious that his past made him paranoid about others coming after him."

"But..."

Billy gave her a pleading look. She sighed.

"Okay, for you I'll drop my charges...at least the part about the tribe." She agreed reluctantly. "But for the school, I still withhold my charges about the other trouble he caused."

"Good enough." Billy smiled.

Lydia went back to her seat. Ruby and Marcus looked at each other. With Billy's charges and the almost-murder part of Lydia's charges dropped that meant a considerably lightened sentence for Earl.

"My offer still stands." Billy said to Earl.

Earl stared at him.

"You...you would actually do that?" Earl, for the first time in his life, was touched; no human had ever gone out of his or her way just for him.

Ratticus did, of course, but Earl never learned how to be a friend or what being a friend felt like. He didn't even know that he didn't know how to be a friend. So even though he viewed Ratticus as a friend he treated him more like a servant who could never please him...much like the way his parents treated him. The worst part was, he didn't even realize it. When he acted disgusted or annoyed by Ratticus's attempts at friendship it wasn't the friendship he was rejecting. It was the mere fact that he wasn't used to that sort of thing. Well, that and he probably was also a little disgusted by Ratticus's lack of hygiene skills...luckily Ratticus did get better as the years moved on...

"Yes, as long as you promise to change your ways. One more evil act and I'll bring my charges back." Billy said. "I now know that you were never really evil, you were just reacting to a lifetime of rejection and mistreatment and...I ended up feeling sympathy for you, I'll admit it. My friends and family mean more to me than anything else in the world and to find out about your family and the fact that you didn't have any friends..."

"If I may speak: Earl did get me for a friend." Ratticus pointed out.

"Yes, but I was referring to his school years." Billy explained.

"Oh."

"Anyway," Billy continued. "I do have something else to offer."

"What?" Earl said, confused. "A restraining order?"

Earl was partially kidding, and Billy seemed to know that because he actually chuckled.

"No." Billy grinned. "My friendship."

The court gasped again! Lydia, Marcus, and Ruby even automatically stood up with shock. Earl stared at Billy, open-mouthed, as the court murmured amongst themselves. The judge didn't bang his gavel right away...he had to recover first. When he did recover...

"Order, order!" The judge said; the murmuring stopped. "Well, if Mr. Sidebottom is willing to agree to this deal, the court is willing too. If Mr. Sidebottom agrees to not perform any more evil or unlawful acts for the rest of his life the court will lighten his sentence from a lifetime in prison to a few years of community service."

There was a pause. Earl wanted to get out of a lifetime in prison, but he had to get used to Billy's offer of friendship. Then he thought back to when Billy and his friends tried to help his younger self get that good grade in shop class. If it wasn't for Ruby and her mistaken thought of not wanting birds to get glue on their feet (the glue would have dried long before a bird moved in anyway) then he might of aced that class. Of course that would have resulted in him going back to his neglectful parents, and enduring more years of bullying. Which, in the long run, were worse than being cooped up in that basement. At least he got Ratticus for a friend later, whereas if he had stayed with his parents he might have never gotten any friends. And he might have also grown up to just be another Ebenezer Scrooge, rather than a science genius who could alter reality in one building. So, in a way, Billy and his friends did do him good. They offered their kindness when they offered to help him without risking him getting a worse life than the one he gave himself by running away. Earl left the stands and walked over to Billy.

"Fine, Billy O'Toole, I accept both your offers." Earl extended his hand.

Billy shook it...and then hugged Earl. Earl froze, shocked. Then the compassion and warmth he felt from Billy's hug melted him. He actually smiled a friendly smile and returned the hug. Then, even to his own surprise, he started crying. Billy broke free, concerned, but then realized that Earl was just letting go the pain and misery he had bottled up inside him all this time. Everyone else remained silent, letting Earl let go of all his pain and misery. Ratticus left his seat and gently put a paw on one of Earl's shoulders. Billy already had a hand on the other shoulder.

After Earl recovered the court was dismissed, though Earl and Ratticus had to remain behind. Earl needed to get his list of community service deeds and no one was sure what to do with Ratticus. It was decided that Ratticus would just remain with Earl, since Earl had gotten more than used to having him around and no one else could think of a better idea. Billy, Lydia, Marcus, and Ruby waited outside for Earl, so that they could introduce him to the changes the world had gained in over twenty years.

While they waited Lydia, Marcus, and Ruby talked to Billy about what he did in there. Though at first shocked they became impressed by his selflessness and compassion for Earl, and even admitted that they too felt a little sorry for him due to his past. Lydia especially was proud of Billy, and she hugged him. Earl and Ratticus then showed up. Earl told Billy and the others what his jobs were going to be, and Marcus told Earl that they wanted to show him around.

They did, and actually had a good time. Earl had a lot of things to get used to, but loved the new technology that was out. One of the first new things they bought for Earl and Ratticus were sunglasses...it had been years since they last saw the sun. They also got Earl some new clothes, and wondered where Earl and Ratticus were going to live now. Earl of course had to stay at the jail while he performed community service, but in between times he hoped to find some sort of job. Then he could use the money to buy a small home somewhere in town. He had already gotten used to living in a small place, and admitted that it was more comfortable for him than his parents' mansion was.


	7. Earl's New Life

And that's what happened. Due to Earl's experience with computers and basements/boiler rooms he found a job in a boiler room of a business (I'm not sure what kind it was...some sort of corporate thing). He mostly kept up maintenance of the boiler and pipes, but was sometimes called in to do electrical work. Ratticus worked there too, but as a janitor (mostly because he was less squeamish than humans about certain things...). It turned out that Earl still had his account, the one he had from when he was a kid, but since he had made a lot of purchases when he was younger it didn't have much left despite the gradually-increased interest he gained over the years. Still, it did make a good foundation, and when it was combined with Earl's paychecks and Ratticus's paychecks it eventually grew into a good enough amount to get a small, three room building (bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room/kitchen). After they got the house Earl picked up all his old toys and electronics, but true to his word he destroyed the photos and related items. Since he was starting a new life he didn't want any bad reminder of his past life.

Both his job and the community service taught Earl how to treat others better, and he ended up realizing that he had never really treated Ratticus like a friend at all. To his horror, he realized that he had been treating Ratticus almost the same way his parents treated him. Once he realized all this, he apologized to Ratticus.

"It's okay Earl, I had a feeling that deep down you cared about me." Ratticus smiled. "You just didn't know how to show it."

Earl nodded sheepishly.

They then hugged, and for the first time in his life Earl felt complete.

Billy and Earl hit it off as friends right away, though it took Lydia and the others a while. Lydia was first, mostly due to loving Billy that much. Marcus was next, since he and Earl shared a love for technology. Ruby took much longer, but eventually even she had to admit that she was wrong for thinking that Earl was a 'loon-burger'.

As the years passed it was like Billy and the others had forgotten about Earl's life as The Phantom. Even Earl himself seemed to forget, he even got rid of his cape and hat!

Eventually, Billy and Lydia married. Marcus and Ruby also found their own true loves. Earl and Ratticus never did, nor did Earl ever regain full physical health, but they didn't mind. Well, at least not about the 'not finding a girl' part. It turns out that Earl was so desperate for friends as a kid that he ended up not caring about getting a girlfriend, not even during junior high. He was never jealous of couples for the romance they shared, though he was jealous of them and everyone else for the friendship and closeness they shared. Because of this Earl didn't mind not having a girlfriend even into adulthood, and never attempted to date. In Ratticus's case he knew he was too unique to ever find 'the one', which he learned before that one time Earl turned the school into a sewer.

Earl and Ratticus stayed in close contact with Billy and the others, and eventually they became like uncles to the next generation. That's right, Billy and Lydia's son and daughter, Marcus's daughter, and Ruby's son.

Earl and Ratticus stuck with the jobs they had previously gotten. They didn't need more money, since they were used to living on meager or no amounts. Earl did keep up his tastes for history-related items and fancy furniture, but he tried not to indulge on buying them. He did get plenty of those items as gifts though, for both Christmas and his birthday.

Billy went on to become a famous baseball player. Lydia decided to create a video game series based on their past life in junior high, except there was no enemy. It was just an adventure series with puzzles. Marcus of course finally got hired by a computer company - well, he would've gotten hired a lot earlier but his parents were against it...he was only around ten or eleven at the time. Ruby became a famous actress.

Despite their busy and sometimes travel-inducing jobs not a single member in this group of friends ever lost contact with each other. And they continued remaining friends until the end of their days...or the end of time. It depends on your perspective of the afterlife.


End file.
